HAZARDS OF THE JOB

HOW your job can affect your health. this week: airline crew THE apparently glamorous life of cabin crew may put them at higher risk of skin cancer (specifically malignant melanoma) according to a 2009 study.

Some research suggests that exposure to cosmic radiation — high-energy rays originating from outside the solar system — may be a factor.

However, Dr Bav Shergill, a dermatologist at Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sussex, isn’t convinced, because the ozone layer, which filters out some harmful radiation, is higher than the planes are. So being in the air doesn’t mean cabin crew are exposed to more UV radiation than other people.

He believes the problem is linked to what they do when they reach their destinations. Intermittent hits of sun exposure that can burn or tan the skin seem to increase the risk of skin cancer later in life.